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Greetings 'n salutations from chilly TX! Because we thought we'd end up in FL, we gave away most of our colder-weather clothes...like long pants lol. Silver lining: Gotta get me some new hoodies! 😃
Anyhow. we're making it, hope you are too. Let's git to bassin'!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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MEGA Live 2 is very, very good
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Note on this Humminbird-focused Top 3 – As you probably saw, yesterday Humminbird announced 2 new things: MEGA Live 2, and a new XPLORE series of units. So a lotta 'Bird in this one because it all got announced at once, and this is the easiest way to highlight some stuff.
Few deals before getting into it:
1. I've been in a decent number of boats with some of the world's best sticks, but am not a FFS or sonar expert – which I guess is a good thing because whatever I say, you can upgrade/downgrade from there! Either way, add a grain of salt.
2. Yep Humminbird supports the Blaster. Not because they love me (I am kinda lovable, though come to think of it my wife's never said that lol) – it's because they want to reach YOU. And as you know I also cover new Garmin and Lowrance stuff so....
3. We all know we have to SEE it and DO it ourselves to know what's really up. So whatever I saw and say, I encourage you to go see it in person.
4. If you don't like any of what follows, take it up with these guys – I think they're all French-Canadian trappers...or maybe loggers:
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Either that or Bryan Thrift is a bad influence lol.
Anyhow, there's a lot I could say based on being in a boat on Lanier with MEGA Live 2 and these new units for 2 solid days – with pros and 'Bird staffers like this, in case you think we're just out there bombing baits! 😁
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But here's the most important stuff in my 2c, starting with MEGA Live 2 vs ML1. And btw, ML2 and the XPLORE units are both available in Jan, but you can already pre-order 'em on TW.
Startin' with a shot of MEGA Live 1 – which is FFS, but not as good as Garmin or Lowrance:
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And here's MEGA Live 2 – which in the opinion of I think everyone at the Lanier deal – is at least close to Garmin LiveScope and is better than Lowrance ActiveTarget:
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(Realized doing this that it's pretty hard to show FFS well in a photo or quick vid, but hopefully you get the picture.)
My 2c is LiveScope with the 34 transducer still has a slight edge with clarity/resolution, particularly when it comes to the clarity/definition of structure. But I don't think it has an edge when it comes seeing your bait and the fish – both of which are literally impossible to miss on ML2. I mean, I'm far from a FFS expert and had zero problem seeing either.
(Fwiw I had LiveScope with the 32 trannie on my boat and now have ML1.)
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ML2's "fishability" is very, very good
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Here's how – the stuff that stood out to me and the guys who were at Lanier, including pros. Bear in mind I saw many fish caught using it and even caught one myself lol.
1. Distance
You can see your bait hit the water and fall (or get worked across the top) no problem as far out as you can cast it. Meaning 100'+. I saw it at about 150' – seriously. Is that the best right now? Guys with serious sonar experience said yes.
I have a vid with Davy Hite where he is seeing his bait on near the bottom at over 100' out.
The 'Bird folks said they were able to get rid of electronic clutter at the top of the water to see the bait splash better.
2. Finding your bait
Pete Gluszek at Bass U said the biggest deal for him was how fast you can see/acquire your bait and then reacquire it if you need to. I'd put it like this: It's actually hard to lose your bait, almost like the cone is bigger or more powerful.
The 'Bird folks said it's neither – the new transducer and the new software make the whole cone sorta "more forgiving." In other words, less "loss" at the edges so you don't need to have your trannie lined up dead on to see your bait.
3. Seeing the fish
No problem at all seeing 'em. With ML1 the fish and the structure were near the same "glow" so they kinda merged until the fish moved. With ML2, every fish glows like it's made out of tungsten. So you see the fish in and around the structure no problem.
In fact, to my eyes the fish and your bait glow the same.
4. Shallow water
We didn't go ultra-shallow, but there was no problem at all in 4' ish.
5. Tidbits
a) There's a bunch of new color palettes that have bait-like names:
- Black Blue Craw
- Golden Shiner
- Alabama Amber
- Green Pumpkin
- Watermelon
- Smoke
- Watermelon Red
- Citrus Shad
- Sunrise
- Spring Craw
- Electric Gill
- Doppler
- PB&J
- Parrot [I like this one, below – the fish are the green blobs]
- Motor Oil
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[Notice how the menu moves the whole screen over instead of covering part of it, as at least some menus used to do on 'Birds.]
b) Less 360 interference
c) Much better image stability when at high settings on the troller (Bryan Thrift almost threw me out of the boat trying to get a vid of that lol) and in rough water.
d) Down, Forward and Landscape modes. What Humminbird calls "TargetBoost" enhances brightness and contrast, which makes suspended fish and bait pop on the screens.
e) ML2 only works with these units: Humminbird APEX and SOLIX (Gen 3 only, which I believe has been out for 2-3 years) and the new XPLORE units. In other words, not HELIX.
f) Available in January, MSRP for new trannie and mount = $1,499.99 – so a little more than the Garmin LVS34 trannie and less than ActiveTarget2 and the newer black box which I believe was required.]
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New Humminbird XPLORE unit is way easier to use
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That was the bottom line for me – easier. The XPLORE is easier and quicker to use vs older 'Birds. Feels like it was designed by a user of the units (meaning a fisherman) vs an engineer. So it's more usable right out of the box, better home screen/dashboard, fewer (or zero) things to page through to get what you want, etc.
Waypoint management is WAY easier, a thing Lowrance has been known for but I think Humminbird has at least caught up now. Waypoints are easier to make (if you know what I mean), easier to adjust/tag however you want, easier to categorize it, and you can move them to and from your phone in like seconds with the One-Boat Network app.
There's also a real cool feature to transfer, delete and I believe alter a bunch of waypoints all at once by circling 'em with your finger:
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That was the bottom line for me. All the good Humminbird stuff (like screen rez) is there, just a better thought-out unit. And all of that adds up to LESS TIME to use – or I guess you get much more out of your unit no matter how much time you want to spend clicking around on it.
Notes
- Available in Jan in 9", 10" and 12" sizes, retail will be $1,300-$2,700. That's about the price of HELIX models, but with XPLORE you have an overall better unit that can handle ML2 and also comes with a chip that has LakeMaster and CoastMaster maps for the entire US and Canada.
- Of course syncs with Minn Kota trollers and shallow-water anchors, as well as the One-Boat Network app.
- Software updates for XPLORE will be pushed through the One-Boat Network app – good!
- I think the new XPLORE "user interface" will also be available for APEX and Gen 3 SOLIX units, but I gotta confirm that.
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More info on ML2 and XPLORE
1. Must watch if you're interested in this stuff – Zona, KVD 'n friends breaking it down, good vid. You can see in this one how good ML2 is as well as the stuff I outlined above about the XPLORE stuff.
2. 5-min Humminbird vid breaking down ML2
3. Informative vid on ML2 and XPLORE
4. More about the MEGA Live 2 on the 'Bird site
5. More about the XPLOREs on the 'Bird site
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8. OH: Equal effort for smallies and largies on Erie
> "...we are seeing around 50,000 targeted angler hours at smallmouth and an equal number of targeted hours at largemouth. This has increased in the past few years."
9. FL: Too many major tourneys coming to FL?
10. KY: Corps going to private operation at 3 lakes
Day use including boat ramps at Green River Lake, Barren River Lake and Nolin River Lake.
Rhetorical Q: Is it okay that citizens have to pay every time they launch even though their tax $$$ created that launch and are still paying for it? I mean, the fed gov't ain't exactly known for wise use of funds....
11. MT: Plan for Fort Peck Rez includes better smallie habitat
Also maybe stocking "if populations decline below target levels," and working with the Army Corps "to stabilize water levels particularly during key spawning seasons."
12. CA: Camanche Rez launch closed due to golden mussels
13. AL: McIntosh Bluff ramp on Tombigbee open again
14. New Z-Man peeps
FL bass-head Richard Dunham is the new product manager. Fished at Southern Illinois U and then as a co on the Opens, Toyotas and FLW Tour.
Abbie Skeen is the new marketing specialist. Looks like she fishes, knows how to run a boat and is a competitive waterskier.
15. Former B.A.S.S. GM Tom Ricks is in firearms
New director of sales and marketing for Lyman, a reloading company. Tom ran B.A.S.S. in the ESPN days, and before that was at Pure Fishing/Berkley/Abu.
16. GA Outdoor News is looking for a full-time editor
17. Noreen Clough B.A.S.S. schollys up for grabs
18. TW's 12 Days of Savings is on like donkey kong!
Line of the Day
When a community or state is competitive and makes itself an attractive place to locate, people go to work and can afford braces for their kids' teeth and bass boats for their trucks.
- Wise words from the prez of the Marshall County, AL Economic Development Council. Except – the bass boats are for peeps, not their trucks!
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What's the best wintertime bridge?
Good winter spots but of course some are better than others – tip from Lurenet.com:
> Bridges are natural stopping points, like interstate exits with plentiful food options, so there are virtually always some feeding bass nearby. The riprap along causeways also provides great habitat for crawfish, and adjacent flats tend to be just a bit warmer than nearby waters.
> The amount of structure varies enormously based on bridge size, the way it is supported, the length of the causeway and the sharpness of the channel break. More structure equates with a larger total opportunity, but smaller bridges are easier to fish effectively because they concentrate the fish more and make key locations more obvious.
> The best bridges cross key travel routes for bass and baitfish, and during the winter...those are the ones that cross the lower portions of significant creek or river arms.
> An ideal setup is a broad crossing at the lower end of a creek arm, with a long causeway filling most of the gap and a bridge only where the channel runs. This...concentrates the fish and accentuates any current.
Just make sure you atch out for Moe the troll:
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
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